Yankees' Rodriguez calls return `a great challenge'

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez says he’s committed to returning from hip surgery and is looking forward to proving he can regain the form that made him a three-time AL MVP.

The New York Yankees third baseman spoke before Monday’s opener against Boston, his first public comments since the Jan. 16 operation on his left hip. His surgeon said A-Rod should be able to return to the Yankees around the All-Star break, and Rodriguez says that was the same schedule he’s heard.

Rodriguez says: “I love when all these people say, `You can’t do this. You can’t do that. You’re done. You’re old.”’

He adds that “it’s a great challenge to prove all you guys wrong.”

He is declining to comment on the January report in Miami New Times alleging he received performance-enhancing drugs from a Florida anti-aging clinic, other than to say he stands by the denial he issued then through a spokesman.